


Discovering a Muse

by Mask



Category: The Tempest Series - T. D. Cloud
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Attempted Seduction, Flirting, Folk Music, Folklore, Medieval Open Mic Night, Musicians, Other, Supernatural Elements, Talent Shows, Taverns, Telepathy, Trespassing, Urban Legends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-12-21 12:49:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11944572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mask/pseuds/Mask
Summary: After performing with his troupe at The Banjanxed Banshee, Ruari hears a most wondrous song that just tempts his inner adventurer. Ruari inquires about the song and finds that it leads him to a castle. Though quiet and lifeless, the castle surprises Ruari by producing him a muse that is no mere work of fiction.





	Discovering a Muse

The final notes of the flute cut through the thick silence of the tavern like a bird song. Ruari’s fingers danced over one of the openings as he pushed the last of his breath into the impossibly long note. When finished, he pulled the instrument away with a flourish. His red hair fell over his left eye, and he stared out to the audience as he caught his breath in deep heaves. It wasn’t long before the tavern erupted in uproarious applause. Ruari smiled immediately under the wash of clapping, whistling, and joyful noise making. 

He looked around. The Banjanxed Banshee was packed wall-to-wall with patrons new and old as well as a few performers. Tankards clattered rhythmically against the tabletops. The singer stepped forward, placing his hands behind his ears as he silently coaxed the patrons into more of a tizzy– if at all possible. Coming to the end of the stage, he and his fellows grabbed each other's hands and then bowed to their excited audience. The cheering hit a deafening volume; Ruari beamed. He so loved the attention.

Once they were upright, they all stepped off the stage. Hands reached out to pat them or shake them jovially. Ruari nodded his head or smiled to the patrons as he passed. When they were all settled back at their table, they only had a moment to settle before a woman came by to refill their drinks, distractedly adding onto the cheering as she topped them all off.

Ruari lifted his tankard towards the woman in acknowledgement with a nod of his head. She gave him a wink in passing before turning around, clapping her free hand against the tankard as she attended to anyone else who needed her. The tavern’s cheering quieted down soon enough and was soon replaced with a more pleasant din of conversation. Ruari took a drink and let his attention slip back to those around him.

He and his companions soon fell into the familiar rhythm of their usual conversation: talking about their favourite parts of the performance, ideas for the next one, and ideas for places to travel to. Every now and again, they were interrupted by a rather friendly drunk, but for the most part, they were allowed the peace of talking amongst themselves. The patrons began cheering again to a lesser extent when two performers took to the stage. One took to the viol still on stage, and the other was holding a fiddle. The one with the fiddle waved the bow as she spoke to her companion. The light caught the strings, which Ruari could tell had a bit of wear to them. He raised his brows, wondering if that would compromise the performance in any way. The woman seemed confident, at least in her body language, so he was interested to see how this would all go. 

Ruari took another sip of his drink just in time for the music to start. The fiddler stamped her foot on the ground. The audience joined in with each quarter note by either clapping, stomping, or slamming down their tankards. Ruari and his troupe joined in. The singer whooped as he slammed his hands on the table. The two onstage looked to each other and then began playing at the same time. The music was upbeat and folkish; Ruari felt the sudden urge to dance come upon him, but he managed to keep in his seat and just kept clapping instead.

The music stopped, but everyone else kept up the rhythm. The fiddler looked over to her companion when they sung.

     " So, we’re gonna tell you about a lonely soul—!”

     “ Oh yeah!” The fiddler chimed in. “Who lives up in the castle, its history untold.”

     “ That’s right! Now if you go a-lookin’, you’re in for quite a friiiight.”

     “ The resident’s a creature—“

     “ Who haunts it day and night!” the two yelled together.

The music picked up again, and the fiddler danced to the other side of the stage, grinning to her friend before spinning back the way she came.

     “ Up and over, through the trees! And past the marks of fae. 

     Down the hill and past the creek— pass through the sudden shade.

     Open are the castle gates– you’ve reached your hard sought goal.”

     The two stopped playing suddenly, and the violist said in a hushed voice, “But beware.”

     The fiddler feigned surprise. “Beware?”

     “ They’re watching you.”

     “ Get caught, they’ll take your soul!” The two shouted to the crowd before playing again.

The patron goers cheered suddenly as the two onstage played heartily. The fiddler’s eyes fell closed as she played, swaying with the music she and her partner played so expertly. Ruari hummed to himself, clapping now with only half the energy. He wondered what place they were talking about or if it even existed at all. A part of him believed that it did. When it came to bards – at least around these parts – they typically sang about things they had seen and experienced. He wondered if these two were the same in some way. He stopped clapping to take a sip from his drink. Well, he’d have to wait until the performance was over before he could find out.

  
  


The next day was strikingly quiet by comparison. After the liveliness at the tavern, walking around on his own in the daytime was a bit of a shock. It was nice though. The weather was amicable, and the silence allowed him to focus on all on what he had learned yesterday. After the duo’s performance, he spoke with them near the bar about their song. It turned out that, yes, the lyrics to their song were about a real place, and the place in question was relatively close by.

     “ _ It’s a bit of a walk,”  _ the fiddler had said,  _ “but if’n you’re brave enough to go, we can tell you where it is.” _ Her companion nodded behind her as they watched Ruari with great interest. 

Well, he always fancied himself a bit of an adventurer. 

He hummed to himself, repeating the lyrics in song in his head as he walked. The performers told him more specific landmarks that he knew rather well. Once up and over the hill, he passed through the forest. He patted a hand on the knotted tree as he passed. “Seems like I’m going in the right direction,” he said to himself with a little chuckle. As he walked, he found various fairy circles along the forest path. He hesitated in his step, looking around between each one. It was… bizarre. He had never seen so many of them at once before, especially in a contained area. He walked around one that was immediately in his path and continued with regained haste down the hill. 

The rest of the way was easy for him. He once again hummed the song as he walked; the performers’ further descriptions helped fill in the holes. The ‘sudden shade’ came in the form of trees overshadowing the beaten path he walked on. He looked up high to observe the natural beauty, though he was a bit surprised by the natural tunnel the intertwining trees had formed. He couldn’t recall a time he had seen anything like that. After a thoughtful hum, he brought his gaze down and saw—

“ The castle,” Ruari muttered to himself. He stepped through the natural tunnel and approached the wide, aged staircase. There wasn’t necessarily a gate that he could see, but admittedly, he didn’t look too closely as he climbed the stairs. He came to the top and was on the stone walkway which branched off to his left and right, squaring off the perimeter of the castle. Ruari hummed and drifted to the left. After walking for a few moments, he found a new staircase that led down into a garden area. He began towards it, but then there was a feeling of dread that sank into him. He had this ominous feeling of being watched. Instead of ignoring it, he glanced up to the dusty and forgotten windows but saw nothing that could have been the cause of such a feeling.

He nervously rubbed at his neck and pulled away, heading down the stairs as originally intended and entering into the abandoned garden area. The garden itself wasn’t noteworthy in appearance, but it had this invisible presence to it that was hard to describe. Whatever it was, it was perfect fodder for a song. Ruari began describing things in his mind and used those descriptions to piece together the backbone of a song.

_      “ _ _ What are you doing here?” _ he heard from behind him.

The pen in his mind scratched along the metaphysical paper. He whipped around suddenly when he heard a voice that sounded so close, but when he turned, he didn’t see anyone. He flicked his gaze about in surprise. Once again, he looked up to the high walls of the castle, but this time, he saw someone leaning on the balcony overlooking the garden high above him. He blinked in surprise, and his lips parted as he started to say something. The person above him was draped in somber colours; their robes were like nothing he had ever seen before. Their nails were so long and sharp. Their eyes burned orange and stared straight down into him. Their lips were unmoving as they repeated their initially startling words.

_      “ _ _ What are you doing here?” _ they repeated with a soft squint of their eyes.

Ruari felt himself smile and chuckle before he understood exactly what he was going to say. 

     “ Just exploring,” he said confidently, putting a hand on his hip. “I didn’t expect to find someone else here as well.”

_      “ _ _ This is our domain,” _ the unknown person said.  _ “You are not welcomed here.” _

     “ Am I not?” Ruari brought his hands to his chest and swayed forward a step. “But I am a bard! My kind of people bring music and entertainment. We tend to be welcome in most places.”

_      “ _ _ Hmph.” _

He could feel the derision like a huff against the back of his neck. In the time it took him to blink, the lone castle dweller was gone. He let his hands fall from his chest and almost started again when he felt the presence of someone walking behind him. He spun and saw this person better now. They were a bit shorter than he was, and he could clearly see that they were dressed like royalty. The feathers in their outfit moved with an unfelt breeze. Ruari started to speak, but he hesitated when he felt a chill ripple along his skin. 

     They stood with their back to him, but they looked over their shoulder as they non-verbally spoke to him.  _ “Leave.” _

     Ruari stared at them, transfixed by their appearance, before daring a step closer instead. “And leave you here alone in this boring little place? It’d be a shame.”

Their brows twitched, and bemusement settled in. Their silence wasn’t a rejection, though that chill lingered in the air. Ruari moved closer still.

     “ As I said, I’m a bard, and I pride myself on leaving people satisfied and in high spirits.”

     The castle dweller’s eyebrow lifted up.  _ “Satisfied, hm…? Has the name for bed warmers changed since we were last part of the world?” _

     Ruari chuckled, suitably caught off guard by the quip. Though, he was curious as to who this being was and when they were last ‘part of the world’. For now, he stayed his tongue. “I’ve been called worse, I suppose.” He gave them an up and down look before clasping his hands together. “Tell me your name at least. And I will make a song for you.”

     Another gentle squint of those burning orange eyes.  _ “… Why?” _

     “ Because I’ve a reputation to uphold, and if I cannot convince you of my worth, then I will never return.”

     A hum filled the air, rumbling like a growl. The castle dweller turned to face him.  _ “… Avenir.” _

     “ Avenir.  _ Perfect _ for a song.” Ruari gave a small shake of his hands and took a step back. “I’ll be back in time with words to woo you.”

_      “ _ _ Woo us?” _ Avenir laughed, leaning back slightly with the motion. Their mouth opened and revealed sharp teeth.  _ “You certainly have high aspirations, ‘bard.’” _

     Ruari gave a grin and began walking backwards. “There’s nowhere to look but up in this world, Avenir.”

He turned on his heel and began up the garden steps. With a flourish, he turned back to gaze at them. Suddenly, the once dull and lifeless garden seemed a touch more otherworldly and artistic. He wondered if they would be his muse tonight.

     “ I’ll return in time,” he said before giving a dramatic little bow. He heard their scoff again behind and all around him. He gave a shake of his head and shoulders before turning away and exiting the castle grounds. It would take him some time to create a song that fit their brand, but he was strangely interested in this “Avenir”, this being removed from humanity and society. 

Perhaps, if he was successful in this, they would grace him with more of their presence in due time.


End file.
